Nevada comes back to defeat UH again

Howe and Nevada send UH home empty-handed

Nevada completed a three-game baseball sweep of Hawaii last night in Reno, Nev., as the Wolf Pack beat the Rainbows 7-2 at Peccole Park.

For the second game in a row, Hawaii led early but didn't build on it and Nevada grabbed the momentum.

UH took a 2-0 lead in the first three innings, as Jon Hee doubled to start rallies in the first and the third.

Derek DuPree and Kris Sanchez knocked him in with doubles.

Mark Rodrigues (8-3) started and pitched five shutout innings, but Nevada tied it with two in the sixth. Then the Wolf Pack exploded with five in the seventh off Rodrigues and reliever Tyler Davis.

"Mark was very good tonight," Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. "But you can't win with two runs in Peccole Park. It's just not going to happen."

The Rainbows (31-22, 9-12 WAC) finish their regular season with three games at home against Fresno State next week.

They then return to Reno for the WAC tournament, May 24-28.

RENO, Nev. » Mike Trapasso isn't giving up hope.

His Hawaii baseball team limps out of Reno today after getting swept by Nevada in a three-game series at Peccole Park. After yesterday's 7-2 defeat, the Rainbows have lost their last five Western Athletic Conference games.

But Trapasso said UH (31-22, 9-12 WAC) can bounce back quickly enough to put on a good show in the final home series against Fresno State, three games starting Saturday at Les Murakami Stadium.

"We're not dead yet. We just have to play better next week," Trapasso said.

It was a different tone from the Rainbows skipper than the one he sounded after Sunday's 5-3 loss. After that defeat he said the game was a "joke," and his team lacked the "killer instinct" necessary to put away opponents -- especially a hot team like Nevada (31-22, 14-7).

UH blew a 3-0 first-inning lead in that one. Yesterday, Hawaii led 2-0 after three innings.

Once again, the Rainbows stopped hitting after taking the lead. Doubles by Jon Hee in the first and third innings allowed him to score when Derek DuPree and Kris Sanchez (moved to third in the lineup from fifth) also doubled. But UH managed just two singles and a walk the rest of the way.

But Trapasso was nowhere near as upset about blowing the lead this time.

"There's no use in beating a dead horse," he said. "And we did play better."

Mark Rodrigues (8-3) pitched five shutout innings, but was saddled with the loss when he gave up two runs in the sixth and was charged with two more in the seventh when Nevada batted around and scored five. Reliever Tyler Davis tried to put out the fire, but yielded a three-run double to Jason Rodriguez.

Howe (3-3) went eight innings, allowing six hits and retiring 10 Rainbows in a row in the middle innings. No UH player advanced past first from the fourth inning on.

Matt Renfree finished up for Nevada with a 1-2-3 ninth.

And the UH base-running woes continued, as Vinnie Catricala singled in the seventh, but was picked off first by catcher Konrad Schmidt.

Still, Trapasso hopes the Rainbows can get back on track for the Bulldogs this weekend and next week's WAC tournament -- which is in Reno.